Often the question is raised regarding what NGIA does for members at the National level. Over the past couple of months we have been actively involved with submissions on behalf of the Nursery sector covering the following:

Biosecurity Legislation review: a new Biosecurity Bill is before the Senate. Industry made submissions during drafting of the bill and have also submitted our position to the Senate Review Committee. We will be involved with input regarding the new regulations.

DAFF review of Government charges: Industry has had input into the cost recovery process for Exports, and will continue to ensure our industries position is represented to Government.

Myrtle Rust Transition to Management Plan: Government has invested $1.5 million to enable the transition to management of myrtle rust in the wider environment. We all know this is not enough to fight this pathogen but industry is involved with various projects to identify chemicals and potential resistance screening of material.

Carbon Farming Initiative for urban forestry. The NGIA is working with Arboriculture Australia to get the trees planted in Urban areas eligible for consideration under the Urban Farming Initiative. This will have a major impact on the future opportunities for increased plantings by developers and Councils. The iTree model is being presented to Government to support our position.

Plant Imports: NGIA sit on PEPIC an advisory committee for DAFF in managing import procedures and the implementation of the new Quarantine facility planned for Victoria in 2016. Industry is pushing for transparency of costs associated with the movement of all plant imports into a single facility. Details on the new facility can be found here: